ORANGE COUNTY, Fla. \u2014 Regina Hill, the suspended Orlando commissioner who recently lost her seat to her rival, filed a lawsuit Friday claiming people connected to her rival\u2019s campaign offered gift cards, services and gifts in an effort to influence voters.<\/p>\n
The lawsuit against Shan Rose and the people who served on Orlando\u2019s Canvassing Board continues a bruising and often personal campaign between two women, one facing seven felony charges and the other dogged by accusations she inappropriately mixed city and campaign business.<\/p>\n
The gift card scheme alleged by the lawsuit was one of several violations Hill accused Rose and her associates of knowing about and \u2013 on the associates\u2019 end \u2013 participating in.<\/p>\n
According to the lawsuit and phone conversations with Hill allies who participated in the campaign-led investigation, Rose\u2019s campaign distributed flyers throughout the district offering health screenings and gift cards.<\/p>\n
One version of the flyers, which had Rose\u2019s face and position as city commissioner listed, had a QR code linking to the health provider, the lawsuit said. The other version attached as an exhibit directed recipients to a website the lawsuit claimed advertised Rose\u2019s campaign.<\/p>\n
WFTV reviewed an archived version of the webpage Friday. It had information about \u201cno cost\u201d health screening locations and times. It also contained large text encouraging people to vote for Rose.<\/p>\n
It\u2019s not clear if any of those flyers were distributed to voters. Hill allies said they were made aware of the flyers because people called their campaign to report them, but said they knew little about how those people obtained those flyers.<\/p>\n
The lawsuit claimed Rose was publicly made aware of the flyers on November 7, and the web page was deleted shortly after. As of Friday, the QR code for the health provider was working, but the second QR code to the alternate webpage was broken.<\/p>\n
The lawsuit also accused Rose\u2019s campaign of conducting ballot harvesting operations at nursing homes in the district. While a notarized letter attached to the lawsuit retold conversations with specific residents who could not remember key details about their votes and one resident who denied voting, it did not lay out specific evidence of an organized ballot harvesting operation.<\/p>\n
Cameron Hope, who once ran to replace Hill but who worked on her re-election campaign, said he did much of the investigating, including conversations with nursing home residents and the man who set up the health screenings.<\/p>\n
He said he was bothered that Rose tied her campaign so closely to her role as commissioner, referencing times city staff have been reprimanded for supporting Rose in a campaign capacity.<\/p>\n
\u201cShe knows about it, and she still continues to do it,\u201d Hope said. \u201cWhy were there two [brochure versions] set up?\u201d<\/p>\n
Rose sent WFTV\u2019s call to voice mail.<\/p>\n
The man who was named as the organizer of the health screenings and who allegedly set up the website supporting Rose\u2019s campaign, Joneal Brunner, denied the accusations when he was called Friday afternoon.<\/p>\n
\u201cThose claims are totally false,\u201d Brunner said.<\/p>\n
It\u2019s not clear why the Canvassing Board members were named in the lawsuit. One of the members, Orlando Commissioner Patty Sheehan, sounded confused when she was called Friday.<\/p>\n
\u201cOur role at the canvassing board is to review ballots. The allegations she was making that morning had nothing to do with that,\u201d Sheehan said. \u201cWe did our due diligence as far as the Canvassing Board and the ballots were concerned.\u201d<\/p>\n
Hill\u2019s lawsuit asks the judge to order the Canvassing Board to set aside the election results and either declare Hill the winner or set a new election date.<\/p>\n
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